EEOC Turns Its Back on Trans Workers

The federal agency that’s supposed to fight discrimination in the workplace is being dragged into court—this time, for allegedly doing the discriminating.

Legal advocates have filed a lawsuit against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), claiming the agency has abandoned its duty to enforce protections for transgender workers under federal law. The suit accuses the EEOC, now under the helm of Acting Chair Andrea Lucas, of bending to political pressure from the Trump-Vance administration by rolling back vital civil rights safeguards.

The EEOC, once a stronghold for workers facing sex-based discrimination, has reportedly dropped several lawsuits in support of transgender employees and slowed or outright stopped the progress of others. According to the legal complaint, Lucas has instituted what is being called a “Trans Exclusion Policy,” which effectively denies transgender individuals the full legal protections granted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Civil Rights Rollback or Political Obedience?

Under Lucas, a Trump appointee currently awaiting Senate confirmation, the EEOC is accused of playing politics with people’s lives. The agency has refused to pay state and local partners for investigating gender identity discrimination, subjected trans-related cases to disproportionate scrutiny, and chosen compliance with a 2025 executive order—declaring there are only “two immutable sexes”—over enforcement of long-standing civil rights law.

In Senate testimony, Lucas justified the dropped lawsuits by stating her agency isn’t independent and must follow the president’s directives. “It was impossible to both comply with the president’s executive order… and also zealously defend the workers we had brought the case on behalf,” she claimed.

But that doesn’t cut it for the plaintiffs, including Democracy Forward and the National Women’s Law Center, who are representing Maryland-based LGBTQ+ advocacy group FreeState Justice. “The Trump-Vance administration’s unlawful effort to erase protections for transgender people is cruel, and a violation of the law and the Constitution,” said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward.

Legal Precedent, Ignored

At the heart of the lawsuit is the 2020 Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, which ruled that discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation falls under sex-based protections in Title VII. Legal advocates say the EEOC’s current behavior directly contradicts that ruling.

“Instead of serving its critical role to prevent discrimination in the workplace, the EEOC, under Andrea Lucas’ leadership, is actually promoting discrimination,” said Gaylynn Burroughs of the NWLC. The plaintiffs argue that trans workers are now being excluded from basic workplace protections available to cisgender employees, a move that not only violates Supreme Court precedent but also breaches the Fifth Amendment and federal administrative law.

Impact on the LGBTQ Community

This legal showdown comes at a critical time. Transgender individuals already face disproportionate rates of unemployment, harassment, and workplace bias. By walking away from its responsibilities, the EEOC is signaling to employers nationwide that transphobia might once again be tolerated—or worse, condoned.

And make no mistake: this isn’t just about red tape or bureaucratic confusion. It’s about real people losing their jobs, their dignity, and their safety. The LGBTQ community, particularly transgender workers, cannot afford to have one of the country’s most powerful civil rights watchdogs decide it’s no longer interested in watching.

With legal pressure mounting and public scrutiny rising, it’s unclear whether the EEOC will shift course or double down. But one thing’s for sure: trans Americans are watching—and fighting back.